Improvement in grain-meters



2 Sheets-Sheet l.

W, 8L T. P. GARR.

Grain-Meter.

No. 221,518. Patented Nov.11,1879.

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2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

W. & T. P. GARR.

Grain-Meter.

Patented Nov. 11,1879.

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1 v WM* Mata UNITED STATE-S PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM CARR AND THADDEUS P. GARR, OF YELLOW SPRINGS, OHIO.

IMPROVEMENT IN GRAIN-METERS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 221,518, dated November11, 1879; application tiled Jine 9, 1879.

elevation, showing our meter in its normal or elevated position, one-ofthe posts ot the main frame being represented broken. Fig. 2 is a sideelevation ot' the operative parts ot' the apparatus, the meter beingshown depressed and the discharge-gate open. Fin'. 3 is a horizontalsection ot' the apparatus, taken immediately above the 'meten Fig. 4 isan elevation ofthe opposite side of the apparatus as seen in'Fig. 2, butshowing the meter in the same depressed position. Fig. 5 is a verticalsection ot' the apparatus, taken in the plane ofthe bell-cran k, themeter being shown in the same position as seen in Fig. l. Fig. (i is anelevation ot the lower portionot the meter with the discharge gate open.Fig. 7 is an enlarged vertical section ot' the hopper, takentr-.LinsverselyY ot' the supporting-bars ot' the slide or cut-oli', andFig. 8 represents the preferred method ot' suspending said hopper fromthe scale-beam,

A A' A" represent the vertical posts, and n` the horizontal beams, ofthe main frame ot` the apparatus, said posts and beams being preferablyarranged in the triangular form shown in Fig. 3. Projecting verticallyfrom this frame are standards a', that support the primary or tixedhopper B, whose ventage b is closed with a gate or cut-oli', C, havingdownwardly-proecting iian ges or ribs c o', that re ciprocate between apair of parallel guide-rods, I) D', the latter being suspended beneathsaid hopper by hangers d d'. Furthermore, this valve projects beyond thesides ot' ventage b, so as to prevent grainescaping from the hopper andlodging on the rods I) 1)'. (See Fig.. 7

a." represents a transverse bar connecting the converging beams a, saidbar being provided with steel or other hard socketsto re ceive t-heknife-ed ged bearings c c' of the forked arms E E' ot scale-beam F,which beam has one adjustable pea, f, to connterbalance the meter andits attachments, and another adjustable pea, f', wherewith to weigh thegrain.

The aforesaid meter consists, preferably, ot a long rectangular trunk orbox, G, which may be suspended from beamlil E F in the manner shown inFig. S. Here said .meter is shown as provided with a staple, G', toreceive a hook, g, that engages over a knife-edged bearing, y', of thebeam-arm E. Fitted tothe upper or receiving end ot' this meter is asecondary hopper, H, whose ventage It is closed by a valve or eut-ott,I, which is guided in a horizontal path by an arrangement ot`-liangesand rods similar to those seen in Fig. 7. Attached externally to thishopper is a suitable brush, It', to sweep the grain oit' ot valve I whenthe latter is retracted. This valve has a stem, fz', coupled to theupper arm, J, ot' a rocking lever pivoted to the side ot' the meter atj, the lower arm, J', of said lever being extended down about as far aslthe discharge gate or door ot' the apparatus. I `urthermore, thisrocking lever has a lug, j', connected by one or mor links, 7c, to theupper ar1nK, ot' a forked lever, K K L, that is pivoted `at Z to ahanger ot' the nain frame, the low'er arm, K', ot' said lever havingapplied to its free end an ad j astable link, k'.- M is a springconnecting said link It to the lng j' ot' lever .I J'.

rlhe principal member L ot' the forked lever K-K' L has a spring, Z',attached to a verticall lv-adjustable rod, N, the stress ofsaid sprin gserving'to maintain the free end of this member L -in contact with astop, a', at the lower end ot' another vertically-adjustable rod, N'.

Hinged to the lower end ot' meter G is a discharge gate or door, O,which door is maintained in its closed condition by a catch, l, having aspring, p. Q, is an adjustable stirrup,

against which this catch strikes when the meter 4has completed itsdescending stroke.

Adjustably secured to the trout and rear sides otl the meter are slottedplates R t', having connected to them springs r i", whose lower ends areattached at o o to door O, te

insure the instant closure of said door at the proper moment. Secured tothe under side of this door is a curved bar, S, whose duty willpresently appear.

l.ivoted to primary hopper B at t is a bellcrank, T T', whose lower arm,T, is. coupled to cut-ott (l, while the other arm, T', oi said crank hassecured to it a spring', U, which closes, or partially closes, saidcut-ott' at the proper moment, the tension of this spring beingregulated by an adjustable bearing, u, as seen. in Fig.

The retraction ol.' cut-oitl C is regulated by a stop, V, adjustable onpost W', which latter is provided with a graduated scale, fir, todetermine the proper set ot' said stop.

Depending 'from arm T' is a leg, X, whose i'oot rests upon a flange atthe upper end ot' the meter, and this leg is made extensible, so as toregulate the motion ot' bell-crank T T'.

Y is any approved iorm of counter, operated by arm T', or otherwise. Zisa brush for sweeping grain ot't'oi' slide G. is a pad or cushion forthe poisej'or beam F to rest on.

Our meter is used in the following manner: The poisej'is l'irst securedon beam F in such a position as to exactly counterbalance meter Gr andits attachments, after which act the other poise,]", is set to weigh theamount of grain constituting a single charge ot' said mcter. Theapparatus is now ready for service, and in this normal position thevarious operative parts are disposed as seen in Figs. l. and 5, areference to which illustrations will show that valves C and I are open,while the discharge-gate O is closed, the upper valve, C, being keptoper. by the iiange at the top ot' the meter forcing up theleg X, so asto swing bell-crank T T' on its pivot t. The other valve, I, is keptopen by the pull ot' spring M on lug j' ot' leverJ J', while the stressot' spring p swings thc catch or latch l), and causes the latter toengage under door and keep said door closed for the time being. Thestream ot' grain is now let into hopper B from a-n elevator or othersource otl supply, and said stream ilows past the two open valves C Iand speedily fills the meter Gr, whose closed door 0 prevents the escapeof grain. The accumulation in the meter of a sutticient weight vot graincoacts with the tension ot' springs M and U to ovcrbalance the two peasj'f', and the meter now descends until arm T of the bell-crank T T'comes in contact with stop V, which stop arrests the motion ot' saidcrank and relieves the meter trom the tension ofthe upper spring, U. Atthis moment the links lr, above lug j', are drawn taut, (they havingbeen previously regulated by properly adjusting the stop il',) and thespring M and links la being attached to said lng at the same point, theyneutralize each other as lt'ar as any action on the movement ot' themeter is concerned. (..loiisequently at this part ot' the descendingstroke ol' the meter the weight ot the grain alone attects the two peas,and. when the latter have been tairly overbalanced said meter completesits descending stroke and instantly discharges the contents ot' thesame. During thisdescent ot' meter G the scale-beam E E F turns t'reelyon its knife-edged bearings e c', and as soon as the catch P strikesagainst the tread ot' stirrup said catch is at once swung aside, so asto leave door O li'ree to open automatically. Furthermore,thisdescendingstroke ot' the meter causes lever K K L to turn on itsbearing Z, and just previous to the completion ot this stroke said leveracts on lugj' in such amanner as to cause the other lever, J J', toclose the valve I immediately bel'ore gate t) is allowed to open.EvidentlyT there can be no further tlow ot' grain from hopper l5 intothe meter proper until said valve l is again opened, but this cannotoccur while gate O is open, because the curved bar S ol" this gate nowbears against the lower end ot' lever J J', that actuates said valve, asseen iu Fig. (i. This opening of gate O is, however, but i'or a moment,as the springs i' r' instantly close it as soon as the grain isdischarged.

The grain being thus discharged, meter G ascends and swings the lever Linto its normal position or against stop n', thereby slackening thelinks 1:,aud allowing spring M to exert itstorce in opening` the slideI. linmediiately on this return of the meter to its normal position theleg K is forced up, so as to completely open the valve O, and theabovedescribed automatic operations are again repeated, each ascent -otthe meter serving to actu-ate the counter Y, and thereby register thenumber ot' strokes of the apparatus, or otherwise indicate the quantityot' grain discharged.

Onr appara-tus is constructed expressly to weigh a continuous stream ofgrain, and at no time is the stream entirely closed oli" in the upperhopper, as it `is in the majority ot meters.

In order to weigh accurately, the amount, or rather the weight, of grainthat runs into the lower chamber of the meter while the low/er valve isclosing must be the 4same every time tbc meter dumps. The necessity ot'this is evident from the fact that the pea acts like a pendulum,requiring about the same time to pass over the space required to closethe valve l regardless ofthe size ot' the stream ot grain ruiming intothe meter. For example, supposing one second of time is required toclose said vaive l, it is evident a greater or less weight of grain willrun into the lower chamber during this second and while the meter is ona balance, according to the size of the stream. llcnce, in order toweigh accurately at every dump, the stream otl grain must be regula-tedto exactly the same size at this critical moment.

In order that the machine may be used for all-sized streams, the t'cedmust be set to run as small a stream aspossible at this moment,justsut'licient to prevent the grain clogging, which is et''cctcd byproperly graduating the beam F and setting the stop V. To graduate thisnew position of said stop is in grain or the same results may be etcctedstop we may use corn, and lower so that bellerank T T toi retract valveC and and this position of scale w as Corn.

said stop V,

will swing far enough almost close ventage b, said stop is indicated onThe beam F isthen graduated by actual trial in the same manner as anyother scale-beam,after which act a stream ot' wheat is turned into themeter, and on testing` the dump it is found it does not correspond withthe proper mark on the scale-beam, because wheat is smaller than corn,and, there` fore, a greater quantity of it will run into the lowerchamber of the meter while valve I is closing. Hence in order to havethe dump ot wheat correspond with the graduations on the scalc-beam Iitwill be necessarv to reduce the feed. Accordingly, stop V is lowered yetfarther and the feed reduced until the wheatdump corresponds with thecorndump, as previouslyT marked on the scale-beam, and this dicatcd onscale w as Wheat and so on for all other kinds ot' by allowing crank T'I" to completely close the valve G and permitting the grain to iiowthrough an opening in said valve, the area of said opening beingenlarged or contracted by any approved form ot' adjustable cut-oit onthis valve.

The scalelbeam F is made inclined, so that when the. requisite amountot' grain runs into the meter to balance. the peas the subsequentmovements of the meter are easier and more positive. If a horizontalbeam were used the meter would halt in its descending stroke the instantvalve I closed, and 1would require enough grain to run inte the hopper Hto overcome the 'tension ot' spring Z; and the same difficulty wouldoccur when latch P came in contact. with stirrup (l2-that is to say,said latch would not be sprung until considerably more grain hadcollected in the aforesaid hopper; but with this inclined beam, wheneverything' is properly adjusted, from the instant valve I begins toclose the meter does not stop until it reaches its normal position andis ready for another charge of grain. Consequen tly, by req uiring` lesstime to make the necessary movements, it gives our meter greatercapacity.

When the meter has descended to a point I where spring M pulls directlyagainst the links 7i', said spring exerts no intlueuoe on the downwardmotion of the nui/ter.Y and all that. is now necessary is for enoughgrain to accumulate in the lower chamber and overcome the weight of thepeas fj". When the meter begins to descend below this point the lever KK L remains stationary, being held against the stop n by the'spring Z,and the links 7: now .being taut, the downward movement of said metercloses the valve I. J usthere the meter would stop it' it were not forthe fact that the grain now accumulates iu the hopperH above valve I,and also'because, owing to the peculiar construction of beam F, the twoends being inclined at ditierent angles, and thel meterbeing thrownfarther from the fulcrums e c' has become relatively heavier than theweights fj" during the latter movement, and thus it overcomes thetension of spring l', When this occurs the lever K IC L turns on itspivot I, and the meter descends until latch l is tripped, as previouslydescribed.

Tc claim as our inventionl. In a grain-meter, the combination otAreceptacle G, hopper i), valve C, bell-crank 'l T', extension-leg X,spring U, and adjustable stop Y, said valve being retracted by the as`cent of the receptacle G, as herein described, and for the purpose setforth.

2. In a grain-meter, the dischargedoor 0, in combination with catch I p,stirrup Q, and self-closing devicesI 1' o It i" o,.as herein described.

3. The combination, in a grain-meter, ot' valve I, operating-lever J J jj', and bar S, which bar is applied to discharge-door O, and is adaptedto retain valve I in its closed eon dition while said door is open, asherein described.

Il. Inconibination with grain-meter and valve I., the lever J J ,j j,links 7.-, forked lever I? Il, and stop n", for the purpose hereindescribed and set forth.

5. In a grain meter, the combination et forked lever It. Ii L andsprings I M, for thc purpose stated.

6. The combination, in a grain-meter, of the adjustable stirrup ortripper Q, for operating the latch I, inthe manner described.

7.. In combination with sliding valve U, belt crank T T t, adjustablestop Y, and extension leg X, the scale n, to indicate the properpositionot said stop according to the kind oi' grain. measured. hereindescribed. j

S. In combination with nieterG,forked lever K K' L' It L I, andValVeoperating lever J J" j j', the adjustable rods N N, spring` I', andstop n, for the purpose herein described.

' In testimony ot' which invention we hereunto set our hands.

VILLIAM CARR. THAD. P. CARR. i/Vitnesses:

J .inns Litri/IAN, JN0.- D. HAWKINs.

